I am a mother of two boys and avid reader; I practically live and breathe books. If I could sustain my life on just reading, I would live forever. I'm weird, and proud of it. I have traveled to many places: Mexico, St. Marteen, Prague, England, Cozumel, and Canada to name a few. Many moons ago I co-hosted "Welcome to Insanity" radio show on a micro radio station in TX- but our show was played via streaming internet in coffee houses in Amsterdam. I have a BA in theater. I used to be "the finder of lost things" but I think my last child robbed me of my gift. Now I just have a large collection of useless information... it goes with my growing mountain of "to be read" books

There is much going on in this story, but it's not difficult to follow.

It's set in Charleston and revolves around Amy, a guest English professor at the local college; Lily, the local florist (and half wood elf); and Dare, security detail for the Matchmaker (who is also Amy's Aunt.) Lily was born with a mark that her family always called a Matchmaker's mark, but has not yet found that special someone. Amy is a human just beginning to scratch the surface of her Aunt's letters and legacy, on the cusp of finding out just how magical the world is. Dare has disappointed his family by choosing to be part of security to the Matchmaker instead of settling down and carrying on the family line.

Fate has her own ideas, and intertwines their lives in unexpected ways...

It was an entertaining story, I didn't have any trouble wanting to read it. The description of Charleston was lovely, I felt like I was right there walking down the streets with the characters. It really built the story in a lovely way, little bits here, little bits there... things that you thought were just 'background color' fall together into the overall story. I really liked it overall.

.. But I didn't love it. By the end, especially the last chapter or so, I was frustrated with one of the main characters. Getting her to admit that she was in love and just be happy was like pulling teeth. It's like I had to fight tooth and claw to get that Happily Ever After. I still enjoyed it, but it's not going to be in future reading rotation with my favorites. I'm not sure if this is planned as a series, but there were also parts of the story line that felt still unfinished. This could be laying groundwork for future, even spin-off type stories following different characters.

Overall, it is definitely worth picking up and reading but not reached a re-read status for me. If there is another book in the series I would still want to read it, I did enjoy the descriptive storytelling and the world that was created.